The next wave of precision agriculture technology will combine layers of agronomic data, like yield maps, soil samples and biomass data to help famers make better management decisions.

ABC News

After travelling the world attending precision agriculture conferences, Emma Leonard says a Japanese on-the-go soil monitor is one of the most exciting innovations she has seen.

Ms Leonard is the editor of Precision Ag News for SPAA, and was awarded a Grains Research and Development Corporation Industry Development Award, which she used to attend conferences in Korea, Spain and the United Sates.

The soil monitor she saw is a Japanese project, able to measure 19 different soil parameters, like nitrogen, phosphorous and micro nutrients in a single pass.

"In Japan researchers have developed, and are close to commercialising this new type of soil monitor.

"At the moment we can do electro-magnetic maps and gather several parameters, but this machine is using a tine ripper into the ground and measuring the reflectance."

Ms Leonard says as more and more data is gathered, new innovations will focus on turning it into useful representations farmers can use to make better management decisions.

"As we're moving forward we're able to handle so much more data, so we can then integrate different layers of information.

"So we could have maps of the soil samples, and include yield data and biomass maps and really start having useful management data."

But, just as many smartphone users are becoming more aware of the need to be careful with the data they share, so too do farmers.

While there's a robust discussion about privacy and data in the United Sates, Ms Leonard says it's not too much of a concern at the moment in Australia.

"When you question companies about [about data privacy] they are aware that this is a potential issue, and it's important that they respect confidentiality.

"But you've only got to download a new app on your phone to realise how much you're giving other parties - so it's important farmers read the small print."